Author: Lightsey, Suzanne

Be sure to check out the newest paper from our group, Natural Killer Cell Mechanosensing in Solid Tumor, an invited review published in Bioengineering. In this review, we detail the mechanisms by which NK cells, a promising cell source for cancer immunotherapy, receive mechanical signals and explore key findings regarding the impact of the physical characteristics…

On Thursday, March 28th, Jessica Aldrich, a fifth year PhD student, and Gabriella Flinn, a senior undergraduate, disseminated their research at the 13th Annual UF Biomaterials Day. The theme of this year’s Biomaterials Day was “Assembling Interfaces for Innovation.” Jessica’s and Gabby’s work titled “Manganese Dioxide Nanozymes as a Chondroprotective Therapy for Osteoarthritis“ and “Engineering 3D…

Jessica Aldrich, a 5th year PhD student, was selected by the Madelyn Lockhart Dissertation Awards Committee for the 2024 Association for Academic Women’s (AAW) Emerging Scholar Honorable Mention Award. AAW at the University of Florida established the Madelyn Lockhart Dissertation Fellowship and Emerging Scholar Awards to honor outstanding female graduate students. The award committee honored…

This February, undergraduate Sharma Lab researcher Victoria Consalvo presented her work at the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference (FURC) at the University of North Florida. FURC is one of the nation’s largest multi-disciplinary research conferences. It is an annual event open to all undergraduate researchers in the state of Florida to present their research in a…

In February, Dr. Sharma, Dr. Patterson, and Jessica attended the Orthopedic Research Society (ORS) annual meeting in Long Beach, CA. This meeting had nearly 2,800 orthopedic professionals attend where they networked and learned about the latest innovations in the field. Jessica Aldrich presented her research via a podium presentation titled, “Intracellular ROS-Scavenging Nanozymes for the…

The UF Health Cancer Center held their annual Research Showcase on January 31st at the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom. The event showcased the center’s multidisciplinary approach to solving the problem of cancer, with research ranging from basic mechanisms of disease, to cancer prevention and screening, to new cancer therapies. Suzanne presented her research titled, “Engineering…

Matthew Rexroad graduated with his Master’s degree this past December 2023. We look forward to following his work and impact in the upcoming years! Congratulations!

During the annual BME Holiday party, Jessica Aldrich was awarded the Graduate Student Excellence Award for her contributions to the J Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering. This award is given to the registered BME graduate student who has excelled in her coursework, research, service to the department and leadership– all of which Jessica…

The Sharma Lab celebrated the end of a great semester with a White Elephant Gift Exchange Party at the Cheesecake Factory and, of course, we all got cheesecakes to go! We hope that everyone has a restful break.

On November 8th, the University of Florida held its 2023 Fall Undergraduate Research Symposium. The Fall Undergraduate Research Symposium is a chance for all undergraduate students to present their research. Presenting at the symposium gives students valuable presentation experience, as well as a place to network and learn about research in a variety of fields.…